List significant aviation events occurring between 1904 and 1911. Describe
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- The German Fokker D -7 of World War I (
- The German Albatros D -II had a plywood fuselage and two machine guns.
Preparing for WarBy 1912, all the major modern countries of the world had formed a military flying service. In the United States, it was present in name only. While other nations of the world made advances in military aviation, almost no progress was made in the United States. 
The US Army had purchased a single Wright biplane in 1908, and for 3 years, this one airplane was the entire “Air Force.” Then, in 1911, Congress appropriated funds to purchase five more airplanes. By the end of 1913, there were 19 aircraft and 29 pilots in the US Army. In 1914, when World War I started in Europe, Germany had about 200 aircraft in its Air Force. Britain and France possessed about 450. More importantly, they also had the industry needed to make more aircraft. The United States did not enter World War I until 1917. Even with 3 years to prepare, the United States still did not have a single combat-worthy aircraft when it entered the war. To make the situation even worse, Curtiss Aircraft was the only company in the United States that could be considered an aviation industry. In 1917, Congress appropriated $64 million for construction of aircraft—boasting that we would “darken the skies over Europe with US aircraft.” Congress promised that 263 American squad rons equipped with 22,625 aircraft would be in action by June 1918. However, when the war ended in November 1918, there were only 45 American squadrons in action, and they were all flying British and French aircraft. Not a single American-designed combat aircraft saw action in World War I. The United States wound up building some British-designed DH-4 aircraft that saw some action from September 1918 until the end of the war in November. This was the first example of the short sightedness of the United States Congress with regard to aviation. Unfortunately, this mistake would be repeated over and over again. What Congress over looked was that the United States did not possess the engineers to design the aircraft, the industry to build them or the instructors and planes with which to train the pilots. Without these resources, there would be no strong US aviation industry. World War I Military Role of the Airplane Throughout the history of aviation, the greatest progress in flight has been made during times when either war or the threat of war was present. When the war started in 1914, the average airplane had a speed of 70 to 80 mph and could not go higher than about 10,000 feet. By the time World War I ended, the speed of aircraft had increased to 140 to 150 mph, and they could operate up to about 24,000 feet. There have been very few revolutions in military affairs. It is rare when a new weapon or a new way of thinking completely changes the way wars are fought. The airplane was one of those few weapon systems that changed warfare, but it took a while to do it. In World War I, the real revolution 33 in military affairs took place with the advent of the tank and the machine gun. These weapons changed the way wars were fought. Large armies that tried to destroy the enemies’ weakest link by either out maneuvering them or destroying them head-on typically fought wars. These large armies would face off in large open battlefields. The advent of the machine gun and later the tank changed the way wars were fought. Armies could no longer line up and merely fight it out. They had to dig in. So the airplane also changed the way wars were fought. When the enemy started to dig in, an airplane could fly overhead and use its mastery of the air and space domain to gain a new and previously unknown advantage. 
The airplane was first used in the same role as balloons had been in earlier wars. They were used for observation. This role required aircraft that were slow and stable. The pilot or observer could study and photograph activity on the ground. Aircraft, such as the British BE-2 and Avro 504, the French Morane and Farman, and the German Taube and Albatros, were excellent for this type of mission. These airplanes usually carried no guns. If an allied observer met an enemy aircraft, the pilots would salute each other with a respect for each other’s skill and mastery of the sky. As war progressed, there were a few bombing attempts. Bomber aircraft were observation aircraft with the pilot or an observer carrying small bombs on his lap. These bombs were released by hand with very poor accuracy. 
During the war, the first long range strategic bombing raid was made by three British Avro 504s against the German Zeppelin storage sheds at Lake Constance in southern Germany. There was little damage done, but the raid did cause the Germans to form their first bombing squadron. The German Albatros D-II had a plywood fuselage and two machine guns. By 1915, the Germans were raiding behind allied lines in France, and later began bombing London using both dirigibles and airplanes. Directory: resources -> site4458 -> General -> Cadet%20Area -> Aero%20Journey -> word resources -> The Rise of Video Games Section “Word” Matt Spencer resources -> Request for proposal contract form for the transit industry resources -> Request for Proposal [insert date] resources -> The University of York 13th 16th April 2004 resources -> Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program Community Education Initiative resources -> Region III standing regional response team (rrt) meeting williamsburg, Virginia Thursday, January 12, 2012 resources -> Efca eastern District and TouchGlobal, the crisis response ministry of efca word -> Chapter 27 Manned Space Explorations word -> Golden Age of Aviation word -> Governmental Organizations Download 1.64 Mb. Share with your friends:
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